The last weekend in May in Berlin heralds the start of summer. With boat trips, the harbour festival, design events and atmospheric concert evenings, our cultural venues are showing themselves at their best. Whether by the water, in a museum or under the open sky: look forward to long days and warm nights!
Tip 1: Visit Berlin Design Week
Berlin Design Week is back and has plenty of events in store for you again this year, covering more than just the latest style trends: under the motto ‘Design Real’, creative solutions to today’s challenges will be showcased. Following Berlin Design Night on Thursday night, Design Week kicks off just in time for the weekend with shows, talks and workshops. Also on the programme is the ‘Hands-On Light’ exhibition by the UdK’s Product Design course, which invites you to join in for a chat and a drink on Friday evening. On Saturday and Sunday, the programme continues with events focusing on jewellery, urban furniture and sustainable urban planning.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Where: Various venues across Berlin
Tip 2: Experience the latest in short film at the PREVYOU Festival
Since 2019, the PREVYOU Short Film Festival has been offering young filmmakers the chance to showcase their projects, network and engage with the audience. This weekend, film enthusiasts will gain insights into young German-language cinema. The PREVYOU festival is being held at the Peter Edel Education and Cultural Centre in Weißensee. Here, you can not only watch the six film blocks, but also take part in free workshops and talks – on topics such as diversity in storytelling, intimacy on set and community exchange for BIPoC.
When: Friday from 8 pm, Saturday from 1.30 pm and Sunday from 12 noon
Where: Peter Edel Education and Cultural Centre, Berliner Allee 125, Weißensee
Tip 3: Have a listen to Schöne Verwandtschaft’s harmonica and jaw harps
Family ties aren’t just a source of potential conflict for us humans; things can get complicated among musical instruments too. Especially when they’re chosen by writer Thomas Sutter to be the protagonists of an entertaining afternoon programme. Under the title Schöne Verwandtschaft, a concert for children, families and the curious awaits you on Sunday afternoon at the Kulturbrauerei. Here, the relationships between harmonica instruments are explored in a playful way. The piece tells the story of the squabbling between a harmonica, a jaw harp, an accordion and a sheng. With the help of three musicians, they make their voices heard loud and clear.
When: Sunday at 3 pm
Where: Maschinenhaus at the Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstraße 97, Prenzlauer Berg
Tip 4: Cruise past villas, castles and seven lakes
Among the many boat tours in and around Berlin, the 7-Lakes boat tour from Wannsee is one of the most beautiful. In just under two hours, you’ll glide across Stölpchensee, Griebnitzsee, Glienicker See and Jungfernsee, all the way to Großer Wannsee. From the sun deck of the excursion steamer, you can spot some wonderful swimming spots for your next summer outing. And there’s no shortage of magnificent scenery either: along the shores, you can marvel at the villas of Potsdam, Babelsberg Palace, the Church of the Holy Saviour in Sacrow and the famous Glienicker Bridge. Set against a backdrop of sparkling water and ancient tree-lined avenues, this cruise feels like a mini-break!
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, hourly from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm
Where: Wannsee jetty, Kronprinzessinnenweg 5-6, 14109 Berlin
Tip 5: Visit the exhibition ‘Cassirer and the Breakthrough of Impressionism’
During his lifetime, Paul Cassirer’s art salon at Viktoriastraße 35 was regarded as one of the centres of French Impressionism in the Weimar Republic. Even today, some hundred years after his death, his influence on the art world is still clearly felt. Together with his cousin, he played a key role in helping artists such as Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh establish themselves in Germany. Under the title ‘Cassirer and the Breakthrough of Impressionism’, you can trace Cassirer’s influence at the Alte Nationalgalerie through around a hundred paintings.
When: Friday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Alte Nationalgalerie, Bodestraße 1-3, Mitte
Tip 6: Discover Berlin’s green spaces at the Long Day of Urban Nature
The idea that there is no room for nature in a metropolis like Berlin is decisively challenged on the Long Day of Urban Nature . Since 2007, the Berlin Nature Conservation Foundation has been using the festival to highlight just how much green diversity can be found amongst skyscrapers, traffic islands and underground stations – if you know where to look. Conservationists and experts invite you to join more than 400 guided tours and hands-on activities, day and night, in backyards and moors as well as along Berlin’s waterways. Among other things, you can get to know native wildlife or head into the woods with a guitar maker.
When: Saturday and Sunday
Where: Various venues across Berlin
Tip 7: Experience the magic of Cirque du Soleil with ALIZÉ
For several months now, the Canadian circus company Cirque du Soleil has not just been visiting Berlin, but has found a permanent home at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz. From here, their shows exude that signature magic of acrobatics and fantasy. Last year, ALIZÉ became the first resident show on European soil to be developed specifically for the Theater am Potsdamer Platz. From tightrope walking and aerial acrobatics to spectacular juggling, the great classics of the circus ring await you here – but with that very special Cirque du Soleil twist. Performances are also scheduled for this weekend, offering you a whole new perspective on the (little) things.
When: Friday and Saturday at 4pm and 8pm, Sunday at 1pm and 5pm
Where: Theater am Potsdamer Platz, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1, Mitte
Tip 8: Visit the SUNDAY. FASHION. SHOW. at the Gemäldegalerie
Since the end of January, visitors have been able to explore how the history of fashion is reflected in art at Gallery Looks. This exhibition comes to an end this weekend – and the sequel begins straight away: at the SUNDAY. FASHION. SHOW. , couture, art history and Berlin’s fashion scene come together. You can look forward to short guided tours on historical clothing styles, speed-dating with curators and designers, and the chance to explore the exhibition on a blind date with someone you haven’t met before. The grand finale will be a salon show featuring models in the foyer, complete with a photoshoot, starting at 6.30 pm.
When: Sunday from 10 am to 9.30 pm
Where: Gemäldegalerie, Johanna und Eduard Arnhold Platz, Tiergarten
Tip 9: Catch Simone Young & Christian Tetzlaff at the Konzerthaus
Christian Tetzlaff is one of the most sought-after violinists of our time. On Saturday, he bids farewell as Artist in Residence of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. Throughout the 2025/26 season, the musician has appeared regularly at symphony and chamber concerts across Berlin. To mark his departure in style, Tetzlaff will perform his farewell concert on Saturday at the Konzerthaus, conducted by Simone Young . The programme features Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in A minor and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s rarely performed Symphony in F sharp major.
When: Saturday at 8 pm
Where: Konzerthaus Berlin, Gendarmenmarkt 2, Mitte
Tip 10: Welcome in the summer at the Tempelhof Harbour Festival
Tempelhof Harbour, situated right on the waterfront, is a bustling shopping centre in the heart of Berlin. Numerous shops, both large and small, the restaurants and the view of the water invite you to stroll around all year round, but the Tempelhof Harbour Festival transforms the area into a real crowd-puller once a year: with live music, street food and family entertainment, you can celebrate the start of the summer season here. Whilst bands such as Young Republic take to the stage, younger guests can help a real pirate on a treasure hunt. Highlights this year include the fireworks display over the harbour and the Sunday shopping in the mall.
When: Friday 2 pm to 10 pm, Saturday 11 am to 11 pm, Sunday 11 am to 8 pm
Where: Tempelhof Harbour, Tempelhofer Damm 227, Tempelhof
Tip 11: Take a one-hour boat trip on the River Spree
As the temperatures rise, so does the mood, but not necessarily the desire to set off on long city walks to explore Berlin’s sights. So it’s lucky we have the Spree. Because with a drink in hand, a cool breeze on your face and the deck of a boat beneath your feet, sightseeing takes on a whole new dimension. Here you can sit back and relax on the sun deck whilst seeing at least as much of the city as the strollers on land. The one-hour boat trip takes you past the Reichstag building and the House of World Cultures to Bellevue Palace.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various departure times
Where: Friedrichstraße station jetty, Reichstagufer 18, Mitte
